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*** DesignGeek ***
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Tips and techniques for the digital designer
In this issue:
-- Dashboard Widget for Designers
-- Wrangling Fonts on Windows
-- DIY Open Type Conversions
Issue 39, 6/7/05
Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion
... for her clients, colleagues, random contacts and interested subscribers
© 2005 Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
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Dashboard Widget for Designers
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Mac OS X users who've made the plunge to Tiger (10.4.X) are exploring the world of "widgets," useful little programs, that run from Tiger's new Dashboard feature:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/dashboard/
A starter set of widgets are included with the Tiger install. They're general purpose ones like a mini-iTunes controller, a unit converter, and a translator. Cutting edge, eh?
Of course, Apple has an agenda. The point of Dashboard widgets is to create an open-source-like hook into OS X. That way the legions of design geeks out there who know a thing or two about XML, CSS and JavaScript (how widgets are written) can develop widgets on their own and release them for the benefit of all Apple-kind. Apple says, "If you know how to create a web page, then you know how to create a capable Widget."
(To learn more about how to create your own widgets, hopefully beyond merely capable, go to http://developer.apple.com/macosx/dashboard.html).
Hundreds of third-party widgets, most of them free, are already available. Apple's collecting all the ones it knows about and categorizing them according to function. You can browse through the widget descriptions and download them here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/
For a more comprehensive list of links to Dashboard/Widget resources, including developers, communities, blogs and tutorials, check out Dori Smith's Dashboard Resources web page. Ms. Smith is the author of Dashboard Widgets for Mac OS Tiger: Visual Quickstart Guide (Peachpit, 2005):
http://www.dori.com/dashboard/
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Type Cast Widget
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After spending a couple hours exploring the world of widgets, I was happy to find at least one that is of immediate use to designers: Type Cast, from Code Line Communications:
http://www.code-line.com/typecast/
Type Cast is a fast way to see some sample type in any of the fonts active in your OS X system. Just jump to the widget and use your keyboard (or mouse) to flip through typefaces, sizes and styles. It tells you the name of the font, its family, and has a shortcut to reveal the font's location in the Finder. And Type Cast is free!
The developer, Code Line, is the same company that developed the Illustrator collect-for-output utility, ArtFiles, and the uber-cool color picker, Color Consultant, both of which I've written about in previous issues of DesignGeek. Links to both of those products are on the Type Cast page.
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More for Designers?
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If you know of any other widgets that are useful for designers, illustrators or publishers, please let me know!
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Wrangling Fonts on Windows
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On April 29, 2005, Adobe quietly stopped selling their font management utility, ATM Deluxe. It went out with a whimper in a TechNote:
http://www.adobe.com/support/salesdocs/1008749.html
Actually, Adobe had already announced back in 2002 that they'd stopped development of ATM Deluxe. The TechNote is the final notice that not only can't you buy it anymore, but you won't be able to get person-to-person tech support for ATM Deluxe issues after December 31, 2005.
By now, most Mac users have already weaned themselves off of ATM Deluxe. It was never compatible with OS X and was unsupported in Classic. But for Windows-based designers, ATM Deluxe was the most popular solution for font management across all their applications.
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FontExpert
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The TechNote recommends that Windows users try Extensis' Font Reserve or Suitcase. But there's another solution you may want to look at:
FontExpert 2004 (aka FontExpert v6)
http://www.proximasoftware.com/fontexpert/
FontExpert is a $35 Windows-only program that manages Type 1, TrueType, and OpenType fonts just like the big boys, and it's received great reviews. It can find damaged fonts, print out font samples, and runs on Windows 98, 2000, ME, NT, and XP.
Best of all, Proxima offers a fully-functional 30-day demo of FontExpert, downloadable on their site.
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ClearType
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If you're using WindowsXP, do you know about ClearType? It's Microsoft's enhanced font display technology that makes screen type much easier to read in all your Windows apps, especially on laptops and stand-alone LCD displays.
The thing is, if you installed or upgraded to XP yourself, it's probably turned off. (If you bought a new PC running Windows XP, it's probable, though not definite, that the manufacturer enabled it before they shipped it to you.)
To turn it on, right-click on the Desktop and choose Properties. Then in the Appearance tab, press the Effects button, turn on the checkbox next to "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts " and finally choose ClearType from the drop-down menu. Click the OK and Apply buttons as usual.
Alternatively, you can turn it on and fine-tune it for your display via Microsoft's web-based wizard, or by downloading the ClearType "XP Power Toy" from their web site.
ClearType via the web:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/Step1.aspx
ClearType via the Power Toy:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx
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DIY Open Type Conversions
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Okay, so far this issue I've written one story about fonts on Macs, and one about fonts on Windows. Let's close the circle and talk about making the twain meet: Converting your fonts so they work on both platforms in your mixed-platform workplace.
You probably already know that the answer is Open Type, right? It's the only cross-platform font format that is immune to slight kerning and tracking differences when used in the same document but different platforms. If you're not clear on exactly what Open Type is about, learn all about it on my Open Type Resources page:
http://www.senecadesign.com/designgeek/opentype.html
Yes, you can upgrade to the Open Type versions of the True Type and Type 1 fonts you already own -- assuming they're available -- and benefit from the additional glyphs (characters) that are often included with them. You'll have to purchase an upgrade for each typeface family.
But did you know that you can make *one* purchase and then convert all your existing typefaces to Open Type? Just use TransType Pro from FontLab, the same people who develop and sell the professional font creation program, FontLab 4.6. The DIY conversion won't magically add cool swashes or anything to the resulting OT file, but you will end up with a single file containing both bitmap and outline code for the font that works on Macs and Windows.
TransType Pro
http://www.fontlab.com/Font-tools/TransType/
TransType always had the ability to convert Type 1 and TrueType fonts from one platform to another; they recently added the ability to convert those formats to OpenType as well, in the "Pro" version ($179). They have a demo available for downloading if you want to check it out.
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Quality and Legality
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Thomas Phinney, Program Manager for Western Language Fonts at Adobe, says that TransType maintains almost all the hinting in a font converted to Open Type. It doesn't support flex hints, though -- what some fonts with shallow, slightly cupped serifs contain so these particular serifs are imaged as straight lines at low resolutions.
If you want to test the quality yourself, your best bet is to lay out a test document using your converted Open Type font(s). Make sure and use some dense passages and custom kerning at different sizes to really put it through its paces. Then open the same layout on a Mac and PC in your office, print them out on the same printer, and carefully compare the results.
Even if the quality passes muster, there's still the issue of legality. Is it legal to convert your fonts, which as you probably know you don't really own, you just license (for X number of seats or printers) from the developer?
At least for Adobe fonts, it's kosher. Dov Isaacs, Adobe's Principal Scientist for the Publishing Technologies Group, says it's okay "per section 14.7.4" of the EULA (End User License Agreement). Here's EULA central on Adobe.com -- scroll down to the ones for Type products to download the right PDF:
http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/
However, you do have to comply with the restrictions as spelled out in the EULA. Simply put, the converted fonts have to be used in-house and can't exceed the total number of licenses you originally purchased.
So if you need to convert your Type 1 fonts to Open Type so your PC-using InCopy users can work with the InDesign layouts your Mac designers created, and you purchased enough licenses, no problem. But you can't legally distribute them to your off-site freelancers who are on a different platform. They have to be used on-site.
Adobe's EULA only applies to Adobe fonts, of course. Review the licensing documentation for your font developer (such as Linotype) before you start fiddling with their fonts.
If you have any trouble using TransType Pro, FontLab has one of the most robust support forums around.
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HERGEEKNESS SPEAKS: Upcoming Events
"A Workflow That Works: InDesign and InCopy in the Trenches"
and "InDesign Solutions: Tips, Workarounds, and Fixes for Glitches"
Chicago Book Clinic's annual "CBC University"
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
University of Chicago's Gleacher Center; Chicago, Illinois
http://www.chicagobookclinic.org/events/events.htm
Note: At the CBC event tomorrow, I'm bringing along copies of my
InDesign book, hot off the presses!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321334132/
"Moving to an InCopy/InDesign Workflow" (full-day pre-Show workshop)
and "Words, Words, Words: Text Without Tears" session
The InDesign Conference
Tuesday, June 21, 2005; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Hotel Nikko; San Francisco, California
http://www.theindesignconference.com/schedule.php?sid=1&cid=4
"Pixel Perfect: Web Site Design and the Creative Suite" session
The Creative Suite Conference
Friday, July 22, 2005; 1:00 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.
Caesar's Palace; Las Vegas, Nevada
http://www.thecreativesuiteconference.com/
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BRING HERGEEKNESS ON-SITE
Do you like what you read in DesignGeek? Find anything useful? Bring me in for a session or two of hands-on software training for your workgroup; here in Chicago or any other city near an airport, and you can have me all to yourself. LOL .... I don't charge an arm and a leg, and you'll find we usually go far beyond teaching which dialog does what. I pay attention to your particular projects and workflow, and teach how you can best use the software to get it done easily, accurately and efficiently.
To learn more, or hear what other clients have to say, contact me or fill out the no-obligation "Request a Training Quote' form on Seneca's site:
http://www.senecadesign.com/training/request.html
Recent training clients in Chicago and throughout the U.S. include Group Publishing (InCopy); American Legion Magazine (InCopy); ST Media Group (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator); Schawk Inc. (InDesign); Riverside Publishing (OS X, InDesign); Hoyt Publishing (InCopy); Playboy Enterprises (InDesign), Loyola Press (InDesign, InCopy); Stralfors (Dreamweaver); and the Chicago Tribune (GoLive).
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DesignGeek is a free bimonthly publication written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion, a cross-media designer and authorized Adobe and Quark training provider. She owns Seneca Design & Training, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois (http://www.senecadesign.com/).
To subscribe to DesignGeek or read archived issues, go to its home on Seneca's site:
http://www.senecadesign.com/designgeek/
To unsubscribe, follow the link at the bottom of this page.
Contact Seneca by phone at 312-946-1100 or e-mail at info@senecadesign.com
Copyright 2005 by Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
Please forward without cutting. Please contact Seneca for reprint permissions. We don't guarantee accuracy of articles. Company or product names mentioned in DesignGeek may be registered trademarks, we use the names in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement.
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